At least 1,300 religious pilgrims killed by Saudi Arabia heat wave
Temperatures hit 125 degrees while pilgrims are required to dress in traditional garments and walk miles every day for rituals during the 6-day event.
1,300 die performing pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia during heat wave
Muslim pilgrims in required clothing walk through Mina, Saudi Arabia in oppressive heat as government authorities spray people down with water during the country's annual Hajj. The Minister of Health announced that 1,301 pilgrims have died so far.
An extreme heat wave killed 1,301 Muslims on a sacred pilgrimage last week, according to Saudi Arabia's health minister. The country's free health services for the event treated about 1.3 million, he told Arab News.
Saudi authorities said that 1.8 million Muslims traveled through Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj from June 14-19. The holy city of Mecca hit 117-120 degrees during the day, according to Saudi weather authorities. Non-profit ClimaMeter stated the temperature at Mecca's Grand Mosque peaked at 125 degrees.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and every Muslim is supposed to make the pilgrimage once in their lifetime, according to Britannica.com. At a certain time in the Islamic calendar, pilgrims flock to the ancient city of Mecca and surrounding sites.
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The pilgrimage, which lasts for six days, is a series of rituals that requires participants to walk seven times around a shrine, scale Mount Arafat and travel between religious sites on hills. Participants can expect to walk between 3 and 9 miles each day, according to Islamic Relief U.K.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah sets up free health clinics, emergency accommodation and gives Hajj visas. Every country has an allotted number of visas. Then several travel agencies around the world are licensed to set up Hajj packages for transport and lodging.
At least 16 licensed tourism companies violated the rules, a spokesperson for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers said on an Egyptian television interview. Those people carried travel visas, not Hajj visas which would have given them access to government-sponsored aid.
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A man affected by the scorching heat sits on the ground at the site of the symbolic 'stoning of the devil' ritual during the annual hajj pilgrimage in Mina on June 16, 2024.
(FADEL SENNA / AFP)
In addition, only those with Hajj visas are permitted in Mecca, so those travelers had to avoid authorities cracking down on illegal permits, and walk through the desert, according to a statement by an Egyptian crisis unit investigating the deaths.
Several news outlets reported that those without the proper permits camped in the open at night without ready access to fresh water.
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Medical team members evacuate a Muslim pilgrim, affected by the soarching heat, at the base of Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, during the annual hajj pilgrimage on June 15, 2024.
(Getty Images)
An AFP News report said that 658 Egyptians have died and 700 more are still missing, according to an anonymous official. Almost all the dead did not carry proper permits. The outlet also said that "several United States citizens also died," according to the U.S. State Department.
The BBC spoke to participants who said that legal accommodations were not much better. Most of the air-conditioned tents were not and the swamp coolers were usually out of water, one man said. Another pilgrim told BBC that many fainted due to overcrowding and overheating in the tents.
"In this extreme heat of 52 degrees (Celsius), dozens of deceased people lie on the streets for hours and the authorities take no action," a pilgrim's brother relayed on FaceBook after a phone call. "He (brother) indicates that he has been waiting for hours for guidance to his tent in Mina and no one from the Saudi guidance is helping them. They have shut down the train and bus transport and expect that the hujaaj will walk in this weather without any water supply etc. This is also one of the reasons according to him that many have collapsed/died."
The brother of the man attending the Hajj, reported that Hajj packages from travel agents run 7,500 to 12,500 Euros per person. A German news source quotes a $6,000-per-head package with non-permitted packages at half that.
The BBC stated that anyone who dies during the Hajj gets a death certificate and is buried in unmarked graves, often mass graves. The Saudi government covers the costs.